BRITAIN:MADELEINE McCANN'S parents were fighting last night for access to police documents they believe will help them find their child after it emerged that Portuguese detectives have finally completed their investigation.
Gerry and Kate McCann, who are still officially suspects, hope this development means they will be cleared of involvement in their daughter's disappearance. But their campaign team believe it also means the Portuguese police have given up hope of finding Madeleine.
The McCanns are said to be "determined" that their team of private investigators should be allowed to examine police files in Portugal so their own search can continue. Their spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, said: "There is great work going on behind the scenes, very diligent work, in many countries. Kate and Gerry will never rest until they know what has happened to her. If she's still alive they will never rest until they see her come home.
"The police information is a key component in that. If the police are not going to go any further on the criminal investigation then, for the love of God, that information could help find her or at least bring to justice whoever has taken her.
"The information in their files surely cannot sit on the shelf gathering dust. It has to be released."
Madeleine went missing from a holiday apartment in the resort of Praia da Luz on the Algarve in May last year.
In September, the McCanns were named arguidos - suspects. One theory detectives seemed to be working on was that three-year-old Madeleine was accidentally killed at the apartment and her body hidden. The McCanns fiercely deny any involvement.
Yesterday, three Portuguese newspapers reported that the case had been "shelved" by the police. One, Expresso, said police had failed to obtain conclusive evidence pointing to abduction, murder or the concealment of a body. Later the attorney general's office in Portugal, where secrecy laws prevent information about ongoing cases being released, issued a rare statement to clarify the position.
The office confirmed the "final report" had been prepared by the police and sent to the public prosecutor. The statement said the report would be considered carefully, adding: "The prosecutor's office will proceed with the global analysis and evaluation of the whole case (which contains dozens of files) in order to determine whether or not the necessary and sufficient conditions have been met allowing for the case's closure." The statement concluded by saying the case remained "under judicial secrecy until mid-August".
The McCanns' team will be disappointed at the continuing secrecy. They were due to launch a high court case in London on Monday to get access to details of the case held by Leicestershire police, their local force. It is believed this case will be postponed while the couple awaits news from Portuguese prosecutors. But they believe thousands of pieces of information in the Portuguese files could help find Madeleine.
The search, which the McCanns' team say is becoming more sophisticated, is being hampered because private investigators are not allowed to work in Portugal until the police inquiry is over. The family believes Madeleine could still be in the country. Carlos Pinto de Abreu, a lawyer who represents the McCanns in Portugal, said he would study the case files from the "first to the last page" once they were released.
The lifting of arguido status will also be welcomed by the McCanns, who believe it has put people off helping them. Lawyers for the only other arguido in the case, the property consultant Robert Murat, were waiting to hear from the Portuguese prosecutors. Mr Murat denies any involvement.
The McCanns did not make any public comment yesterday. Kate McCann's father, Brian Healy, said: "Kate and Gerry should have never have been given arguido status." Henrique Machado, of the Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manha, which reported that the case was being closed, said: "This is not surprising. With no evidence to go on, this was only expected."
He said many people in Portugal felt the police were overwhelmed by the frenzy surrounding the case.
"In Portugal there is a feeling this was always a difficult case from the start, which was not helped by the media coverage." The latest developments came only hours after police officer Goncalo Amaral, who was removed from the case in October, retired. He is believed to be writing a book on the case. - (Guardian service)